Come Morning Light
by karevsprincess
Summary: One-shot, post 6x10. Spencer and Toby reunite after the Charles reveal and she tells him the truth of what happened to his mother.


**Author's Note** : I was very disappointed in the PLL mid-season finale. I wanted Wren to be Charles so badly (he was really the only person who I thought was plausible) and while Cece being A isn't bad there were so many plot holes in the story it was ridiculous. The excuses Marlene is making to cover her own mistakes are frankly insulting – you expect me to believe that Toby and Alison were toddlers in that flashback in 4x01? So was Wilden a child cop when he covered up Marion's death then? It's like, how stupid does she think we are? But that's beside the point. I would have LOVED to see the boyfriends in this episode (which they were originally supposed to be in, or so we were told) and I wish I could've seen Toby's reaction to finding out the truth about his mom, but I was very pleased with how Spencer acted when she found out. Anyways, this one-shot takes place after the finale and features Spencer and Toby meeting up after Cece is caught and Spencer telling Toby the truth. Hope you enjoy!

Title and lyrics come from "Safe and Sound," by Taylor Swift and The Civil Wars.

 **Disclaimer** : Let me tell you if I was a writer on _PLL_ that reveal would have been much better because I would actually watch my own damn show and make sure that the story I was telling made sense. (I'm really angry in case you can't tell.)

* * *

 _I remember tears streaming down your face_

 _When I said, "I'll never let you go"_

 _When all those shadows almost killed your light_

 _I remember you said, "Don't leave me here alone"_

 _But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight_

* * *

There's a crowd at least ten people deep standing outside of Radley once he gets there. There are multiple cop cars, lights flashing, and someone is being loaded into the back of an ambulance. He can feel his heart drop into his stomach. What if one of the girls was hurt? What if _she_ was hurt?

Onlookers are forming a huddle on the sidewalk – surely attracted by the commotion – and he finds himself shoving through them. Finally he sees Tanner, standing by her car and talking to Barry. When she catches a glimpse of him her eyes narrow. "Cavanaugh," She barks. "You can't be here. You're on suspension."

"I'm not here as a cop," Toby retorts, not backing down. Tanner may be able to boss him around on the job, but not here. "I'm here as the victim's boyfriend, and I'll be damned if you don't let me talk to Spencer."

Tanner opens her mouth to object but then Barry looks at her and she crosses her arms over her chest, giving in. "Fine." She mumbles. He mutters an insincere 'thank you' in response – because he really doesn't owe her anything when she should've been here hours ago, and all of her half-assed attempts to keep his girlfriend safe didn't stop her from almost being killed tonight.

He spots Emily, who has tears streaming down her face. Next to her Aria stares ahead blankly as she talks to an officer, while Hanna buries her face into Caleb's chest. "Toby," Emily manages to say when she sees him, and then she's back to crying hysterically again. Toby can't help but pull her into a hug. "It's Sara." She says to him. "Sara is Red Coat, Toby."

"Oh my God, Em. I'm so sorry." Seeing Emily cry is almost as bad as seeing Spencer – Emily is one of the kindest, most sincere people he's ever met. He doesn't know how anyone could hurt her – because hurting Emily is basically like kicking a puppy. You can't understand why anyone would do it.

Emily nods and wipes her eyes. "You should go see Spencer. I'll be alright. She's over there, she just finished giving her statement." He squeezes her shoulder and hugs her one more time, then goes to find his girlfriend.

A moment later, he finally sees her. She is leaning up against a police car, staring dejectedly at the ground, a blanket around her body. "Spence?" She looks up, their eyes meet, and then she's practically barreling towards him.

"Toby, oh my God." For a moment he just holds her, her body pressed up against his chest, trying to process that she's safe. He's nearly lost her so many times and it's not something he will ever get used to. He's just as scared every time. The very thought of having to live a life that doesn't include her is terrifying to him.

"I'm so relieved that you're okay," He says and Spencer backs away from the embrace - but she doesn't let go, she never lets go - as she meets his eyes.

"Cece is Charles," She blurts out. "Or I guess I should say Charlotte…" She shakes her head, clearly still absorbing all of this. "They're taking Jason and Mr. DiLaurentis to the hospital. Cece drugged them, but they should be okay…"

"The real question is are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Cece didn't touch me."

"That's not what I meant." Spencer looks up at him and Toby can see that her brown eyes are slightly red, like she'd been crying earlier. He runs his thumb across her cheek and she closes her eyes, trying to hold back another round of tears. He hates seeing her like this. After everything she's been through, she deserves to be happy. If he could go the rest of his life without ever seeing her cry again, he'd be grateful.

"There's something important I have to tell you and I don't know how you're going to take it." Spencer says.

"Babe, we can wait to do this –"

"No, we can't." She cuts him off forcefully and he can tell from the look in her eyes that there's no way he can convince her otherwise – she has to say this right now and he knows better than to tell Spencer Hastings she can't do something.

"Okay." Toby gives in. "What is it?"

Spencer takes a long, deep breath before she speaks. "Toby when Cece was in Radley, she knew…she knew your mother."

At the mention of his mom, he thinks he momentarily stops breathing. "Did she…" He finds himself asking, and he can barely get the words out. "Did Cece… _push_ her?"

Tears fill her eyes again and she shakes her head 'no'. "Bethany Young did. That crazy bitch she…she didn't want your mom to see Cece wearing a dress back when she was still Charles. And then when she realized what she did, she told everyone it was Cece. That's why Mrs. DiLaurentis made Wilden cover it up – she thought she was protecting Cece."

At this new revelation he finds himself pulling away from her grip, taking a step back as he processes this. Truthfully he had thought that he would never find out what happened to his mother, not after he signed that nondisclosure agreement with Radley. Now he finally knows what happened that night on the rooftop – a mental patient pushed his mom off the roof, just because she'd happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.

She hadn't chosen to leave him after all.

He doesn't realize he's crying until Spencer steps forward, placing her hands on both sides of his face as she wipes away his tears. "That psycho bitch is _so_ lucky she's already dead." She says. "I'm really starting to wish I had killed her after all…"

"Spence, no." Toby interjects quietly. "Trust me, I am so angry too. And I want to say Bethany got exactly what she deserved but…but my mom wouldn't want us to think that way, okay? That's…that's not the kind of person she was. That's not the kind of person she'd want me to be."

Slowly Spencer nods, her expression morphing from one of anger to one of sadness. "I really wish I had gotten a chance to meet her…"

"I know." He whispers. "I do too. Because she would've loved you."

She glances up, her eyes soft. "You really think so?"

He smiles. "I know that for a fact."

She smiles too, and he pulls her in for another long embrace. "Can I stay with you at the loft tonight?" Spencer asks. "Please?"

Toby nods – he can't refuse her anything. "Always."

They start to walk back towards the truck – hand in hand, fingers interlocked – when Spencer stops suddenly. "Toby?"

"Yeah?"

She turns to look at him, smiling slightly. "I don't want you to ever go back to that place you were before. I would never _ever_ choose to leave you. Promise me you won't ever doubt that."

He smiles and kisses her forehead. When his mother had supposedly committed suicide, he'd blamed himself a lot - was he not good enough for her? Was he not enough of a reason for her to stay alive? Then Jenna had abused him, and Ali had framed him, and he started to think that he was unworthy of love - then Spencer came into his life. For the first time since his mother's death, he knew what it felt like to be loved. He could never doubt her, not when she continually chose him time and time again. "Of course not. You've never given me a reason too."

* * *

 _Just close your eyes_

 _The sun is going down_

 _You'll be alright_

 _No one can hurt you now_

 _Come morning light_

 _You and I'll be safe and sound_


End file.
